We've heard that the Democrats and the President are being rolled by Rep. John Boehner R-Copportone. We've heard that Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security are sacrificial lambs in imminent danger of being slaughtered by the tea party-infected GOP and Democrats with no moral rudder or "core convictions."
But Debt Ceiling Cat has a different point of view of the Sunday negotiations. And by Debt Ceiling Cat I mean sources talking to Politico.
You remember the Democrats prior to the midterms, who were weighed down by a caucus more pre-occupied with re-election than going all in and taking care of business like the Debt Ceiling?
Well they're gone.
In their place are Democrats Pissed Point O.
Politico describes the exchanges between our esteemed members of congress as "testy" to put it mildly:
During a 75-minute session Sunday at the White House, Obama told the congressional leaders that America is not a “banana republic,” so he won’t agree to several months-long debt increases that raise fears of a default, according to two Democratic officials familiar with the meeting.
The president argued several times that negotiators should work toward a $4 trillion package for reducing the deficit rather than the smaller one favored by Republicans, calling on them to stand up to their base to get it done....
“If not now, when?” the president said to the group, according to the official....
The meeting, which featured several sharp and frustrated exchanges, broke without settling much other than negotiators’ plans for their next meeting, according to multiple Republican and Democratic officials briefed on the session.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/...
The president says "we're not a banana republic" but if the current negotiations resemble any clothing retail chain it's "The Gap" Because nobody is budging on anything.
The President and Nancy Pelosi want a grand bargain tied to revenue increases, while the GOP want $2 trillion in cuts with no taxes being raised and no loopholes being closed.
Republicans also argued that there isn’t enough time to complete the grand bargain — a claim that annoyed the president, according to one source.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/...
You remember Yes We Cantor who thought he had the President over a barrel when he walked out in a huff from the Biden talks? He was disabused of the notion that he had achieved something with his melodramatic exit. Neither the President nor Biden are budging on their position: no revenue? Then no cuts.
Cantor and Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.), who also spoke frequently during the meeting, tried to steer the discussion back to the Biden framework as a viable alternative, sources said.
But Biden and Obama disagreed with the Republicans that the Biden talks had produced any kind of ready-made agreement. They told Republicans that they wouldn’t be able to take all the spending cuts without balancing them out with revenue increases, sources said.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/...
All the Democrats are on the same page. Whether it's $4 trillion or $2 trillion or $1 trillion and some change, the message is clear and resolute: no revenue? Then no cuts:
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), appearing on CNN’s “State of the Union,” said the Biden talks identified only about $1 trillion in spending cuts. Democrats would agree to those cuts only if certain tax loopholes were closed, such as tax breaks for corporate jet owners and subsidies for oil and gas companies.
“Our Republicans colleagues are dreaming if they think we had $2.4 trillion in cuts,” said Van Hollen, a participant in the Biden talks.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/...
All the key players are coming back on Monday. The GOP will be there to fight for corporate jet owners and the Democrats will be there to fight for us.
Ding, ding!
UPDATED: I cut out the paragraphs referring to Harry Reid being ticked off about the pattern of communication breakdown that the GOP offers. While I thought it was interesting, I wanted to be responsive to fair use concerns that were raised by a commenter in this diary.
That's it. Carry on with your lively discussion about what the Debt Ceiling Cat saw!